Which to use
“require” and “requires” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,736
- “require” frequency rank
- #2,175
- “requires” frequency rank
- 3911
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | require | requires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To demand, to insist upon (having); to call for authoritatively. | third-person singular simple present indicative of require |
Where the eye mixes require and requires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses require with requires
A purely visual mix-up. require (/ɹɪˈkwaɪə/) and requires (/ɹɪˈkwaɪəz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “require” sits inside “requires”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
require is recorded at frequency rank #1,736, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈkwaɪə/. requires is at rank #2,175, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈkwaɪəz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 3911, this pair ranks #520,591 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of require vs requires
Shared letters: eiqru. Private to "require": -. Private to "requires": s.
"require" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "requires" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "require" and "requires" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "require" or "requires" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "require" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "requires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #520,591 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "require" and "requires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "requiem vs requires". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #520,591 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.